Tricking Fate
by Hurtful Purple
Summary: It's back! Kyle and Max are Snitch and Skittery's old relatives who were killed the time of the newsies. Can they save them this time around?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Newsies

**A/N: **Okay, so, You might see a few updates for this in the next few days, but after about five chapters, I might not update it for a while.

* * *

"Hey, Max! I have to show you something!" called a tall, not-too-thin, dark brown haired boy. 

His dark eyes shined with excitement. The blistering heat cause sweat to begin its slow journey down the side of his face, and the center of his forehead, dripping off the edge of his large nose. He wiped the sweat away and ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stick up even worse. He wore baggy tan shorts, blue K Swiss with pink (his favorite color) stripes and a light blue t-shirt that was slightly damp from all the sweat.

"Like what?" Max asked.

Max was a little taller than his friend, about the same weight as him, and had dark blue eyes. He had an unusually deep voice, a babyish face, and wavy, dark brown hair. The heat hadn't affected him in quite the way it had his friend, but he was still sweaty. He reached up and rubbed his forehead where it had begun to itch a little. Today he was wearing baggy dark blue shorts, plain white K Swiss and a white t-shirt that read 'Dude your moms hot', and was practically see through, thanks to the cup of water he poured onto his head not even two minutes after setting foot outside.

Max walked the couple of feet separating him and his best friend, Travis. Travis was jumping up and down with excitement (looking like a fool in the process) in the doorway of a store. A Halloween costume store to be exact. The store was called _Goblins and Cauldrons_, and had only been open about a week or so.

Halloween was tomorrow, and the two still hadn't picked out their costumes. Some people thought that Max and Travis were too old to go trick or treating (like their parents and neighbors). They did too. But when they had been younger, they had both made a promise that they would trick or treat until they were 18 and neither was one to go back on a promise. This would be their last year of celebrating Halloween like kids.

"Like something. Let's go!" Travis replied impatiently.

As they stepped into the store, a bell jingled above their heads. The place was entirely empty. It was decorated in spider webs containing fake spiders that were draped over the counters and display shelves. Orange, yellow and black streamers were taped to the wooden brown walls and the ceiling.

In some of the display shelves were cauldrons with smoke billowing out of the top, or skeleton shaped lights. On others were miniature figures of witches riding broomsticks, with black cats sitting on their laps, or monster masks, most of them which were unidentifiable, but you could figure out what some of them were supposed to be, like goblins, skeletons, the bogie man, and bigfoot.

Boxes stood in clusters all around the front of the room, about 10 feet from the cash register, giving off the impression that the store wasn't completely ready for the public. Just a ways behind the cash register was a wall with an opening, covered by a dark purple velvet curtain covered with silver stars.

"It's not in here." As Travis took a step towards the boxes, an old man walked out from behind the curtain.

He was very tall and very old by the looks of him. About 6'6". He had gray hair that was short and almost white. His blue eyes were cloudy, as if he wasn't entirely there, or blind. He was wore a dark purple robe with silver stars and a matching hat over a black shirt, black pants and black dress shoes.

"Hello, welcome to _Goblins and Cauldrons_! I am the owner of this shop, Mr. Greggorson. What can I do for you gentlemen?"

"Um… we'd like some Halloween costumes," Max said cautiously.

"Oh, obviously. Well, I think I have some that might interest you. Follow me please."

Mr. Greggorson led them behind the counter and into the room behind the curtain.

As the curtain fell back into place the room was covered in darkness. Sure there was a light but it was a black light. Those do not give off very much light. The room was cold. So cold, it felt like they were standing in a freezer (not that the lack of heat wasn't appreciated). With the little amount of light there was they could just barely make out fuzzy shapes that looked like boxes stacked on top of one another in front of the wall farthest from them. By the looks of it there were dozens of unlit candles sitting on the top of a waist high table to their left. A breeze swept through the room, thoroughly frightening both boys.

"It's kind of dark in here. Do you think you think you could light one of those candles?" Travis stuttered.

"What? Oh, of course."

Mr. Greggorson grabbed a packet of matches off the table. As he lit the match, the two got a better look at the room. There were in fact boxes against the wall farthest from them, along with a pile of robes and hats in front of them. Aside from that, the room was pretty much empty.

"So… where are the costumes?" Max asked.

"Costumes? What costumes?" Mr. Greggorson said, confused.

"The ones you wanted to show us," Travis answered.

"…Those? Oh um, they're back here."

Mr. Greggorson walked to the boxes and lifted the first one from the stack with a bit of difficulty. As he set it down he immediately started searching through it. He pulled out some princess costumes, a couple witches, a goblin or two, and what seemed to be a set of very old clothes. He tossed the last costume to Max.

As Travis and Max got a better look at it, they saw that the outfit contained a dark brown vest, brown knickers, a light blue long sleeved shirt, black socks, brown boots and a gray cabbie hat.

"You kids wanna help me sort through these boxes?" Mr. Greggorson asked with a hint of hopefulness in his voice.

"What are we supposed to be looking for?" Max demanded. "And what is this supposed to be?"

"A newsboys costume."

"And why would we wanna be newsboys for Halloween?" Travis asked.

"Well, to help me and some other people."

"With what?"

"We want to prevent some murders."

"How would us dressing up as newsboys help?" Max questioned.

"You'll need to blend in! Now here is what you'll need to do…."

"Wait! Who said we were gonna help you?" Travis demanded.

"I just assumed that nice young men like yourselves would help a poor old man like me." Mr. Greggorson said.

Max sighed. He was all for helping people, but didn't know exactly what they were going to do. They could be risking their lives for all they knew. "Fine. I'll help."

"Me too," Travis volunteered.

"Okay. Look for a light pink button up undershirt, a brown cabbie hat, and dark gray pants with matching suspenders."

Travis grabbed a box sitting on the right of Mr. Greggorson while Max took one from the left. After a few minutes of searching, Travis found the costume.

"I think I found it." He held up the clothes and Mr. Greggorson looked over at him.

"Yes! That's it!"

"Okay, so how much do we owe you for the costumes?" Max asked.

"Since you're doing this for a good cause, they are free."

"Really? Wow. Well, thanks a lot for these." Max picked up his costume and was about to leave when Mr. Greggorson stopped him.

"Wouldn't you like to know what you're supposed to do?"  
"Oh, that's right. You never told us what we're supposed to do, other than stop a murder," Travis said.

"Well, you boys are going back in time to save your distant relatives, Kyle and Seth McFarlane," Mr. Greggorson answered.

"Wait, who are they related to, me or Travis?" Max asked, confused.

"Both of you. You see, you two are cousins," Mr. Greggorson said hesitantly.

"So… my best friend is my cousin? Sweet!" Travis exclaimed.

"Man this is so cool! How are we related?" Max wondered.

"Kyle and Seth were twins and their younger sister had two girls. One of the girls gave birth to a girl who had two girls. One of them married Alex Stevenson while the other married Rodney Grant."

"Alex Stevenson is my dad… or at least, he was before he died," Travis said sadly.

"And Rodney Grant is my dad. I'm not happy about it, but you can't choose your family," Max said almost carelessly. Max's dad was a criminal. He killed people, just for the fun of it.

There was silence. It seemed like no one knew what to say. The flickering light from the candle made shadows pass over the walls. When the light crossed Max's face, you could see that his face was as still as a pond. His expression was entirely emotionless.

"So, is that all?" Travis asked after a moment. "We just have to go back in time and save them? How are we gonna go back in time anyway? What do Kyle and Seth look like? How are we gonna get back?"

"The costumes help you go back in time. I guess you could say they have magical powers. The twins look kind of like you two. The mission is not as simple as it seems. Some people were hired to stop you. They will probably try to kill you. To get back to the present, all you have to do is click your heels together three times and say 'There's no place like home'."

"They'll want to kill us?" Max all but screamed.

"Most likely. But I have complete faith in you. Plus, they have extremely bad aim. I've met them before."

"But what f they aim for me, miss and hit Max?" Travis demanded.

"That's a chance I'm willing to take," Mr. Greggorson answered trying to hold back a smile.

"Hey!" Max shouted.

"I'm kidding! If you wear those," Mr. Greggorson pointed to the costumes, "they won't even be able to find you! You'll blend in!"

"Fine."

"One more thing, Kyle and Seth are - or should I say were - millionaires. You have to get their money and bring it back to the present with you."

"Okay," Travis said.

"Good. Tomorrow night, put on those costumes and you will be taken back to 1897. Good luck."

And with that, Mr. Greggorson snapped his fingers. Dust appeared from out of nowhere and swirled around him. When the dust fell, he was gone.

* * *

How d'ya like it? 


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Newsies.

**A/N:** Second chapter is now up. I know I didn't get any reviews for the first one, but I like this story, so it's okay.

* * *

"Do you believe that guy?" Max asked as the two walked out of _'Goblins and Cauldrons'_, and into the sweltering heat. They had just gotten used to the coolness of that backroom.

"Actually, I do," Travis said slowly.

"What? How could you believe that load of crap? How could two stupid costumes take us back in time over one hundred years?"

"Magic?"

Max slowly turned to look at his friend, who was grinning sheepishly. "You believe in magic? Oh my god. You are so stupid sometimes! There's no such _thing_ as magic!"

"If I'm so stupid, then you can go trick or treating by yourself!" Travis turned around and walked away from his long time best friend, and cousin.

After a few moments of just standing in the same spot, watching Travis's figure disappear, Max followed (his house was a block away from Travis's).

"I said sometimes!" He grumbled at the ground.

As Max neared his house, he heard footsteps echoing his own. Turning around, he saw a small girl with blue-green eyes and dirty blond pigtails standing before him. She wore what looked like a purple bikini top and light blue short-shorts, which showed off her curvy figure.

The girls name was Tracey, and she was Max's neighbor, and had been for the last six or seven years. Tracey was a very hyperactive person and loved things to be unexpected and just done on a whim.

"Hi, Max!"

"Oh, hi Tracey."

"What's wrong? You seem sad."

Max looked down at the ground and dragged his feet along the ground before answering. "Travis is mad at me again."

"Again? That's like, the fourth time in two months! What did you do this time?"

"What makes you think it's my fault?" Max demanded.

"Well, one, you said 'Travis is mad at me again', and two, it's always your fault."

Max took his eyes off the sidewalk long enough to glare at her. "Is not."

Tracey smirked and looked at him. "Max, it is always your fault. I know that sounds mean, but sometimes, the truth hurts."

"Yeah, yeah."

She looked at the horizon. "So, what did you say?"

"I said that he could be really stupid sometimes…"

"Nice."

"Shut up."

"…"

"You can talk you know."

Tracey nodded and they continued their walk home. Much too Max's surprise, Tracey stayed quiet for almost three minutes. Then, "Max, I think you should apologize."

"I know, I will, it's just… I hate it when we get into fights!"

Tracey stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk and Max caught her.

"I know you do. You're always complaining about your fights to me. But, you need to work on thinking before you speak."

"Okay, I'll try."

"Good."

They reached their houses and said their goodbyes.

* * *

Travis stomped up the wooden porch steps, paused at the rug to take off his shoes – his mother's rule –, and opened the dark wooden door. He slammed the door, dropped his shoes off at the shoe rack, dropped his costume on the stairs, and was about half way up the stairs to his bedroom before his mother made her way into the hall. 

"Excuse me, young man, what have I told you about slamming that door?"

Mrs. Stevenson – Bonnie to her friends – was a portly woman with curly dark brown hair kept out of her face by pinning it up in a bun. She wore a dark blue dress that did _nothing_ for her figure, a white apron –she'd been cooking-, and white socks. She had dark brown eyes like her son, a few wrinkles here and there – especially the stress one on her forehead caused by her eldest son, Joel - and lightly applied dark red lipstick. She had many expressions, and normally they all showed the same thing: kindness, understanding and joy. Right now, the look on her face was one of fury.

"Sorry Mom. I'm just a bit upset right now."

Mrs. Stevenson's features softened to show a face full of worry. "Oh, Sweetie, what's wrong? Did you run into Alexia again? Do you have any bruises? If she touched you I swear…"

"No! Mom, I haven't seen Alexia since Anthony left us," Travis said sighing. "I… I'd really rather not talk about it right now." Alexia, his step sister, used to beat him up almost daily. Her dad, Anthony, married Travis' mom a few years after his dad died. "Alright, hon. If you need an extra fan up there, let me know."

Travis looked around and saw for the first time that his mom had dug up around twenty fans from who knows where, and they were blowing air in every direction from every corner of the room. He suspected there were more in different rooms all over the house, waiting to be discovered.

"Oh, and before I forget, put your shoes on the rack _neatly_, Travis," Mrs. Stevenson added, using her motherly voice.

Travis looked back towards the door to see their wooden shoe rack with his shoes, along with his brother Joel's strewn across the top.

He sighed, drug his feet all the way to the rack, aligned the shoes, and turned to face his mom. "That better?"

"Yes, very. What is that lump on the stairs? If it's a dog, then _no_, you can't keep it. I've told you a million times!"

"Mom! Cool it, jeez. It's my Halloween costume."

Mrs. Stevenson sighed. "Travie, you know I disapprove of you trick-or-treating. Can't you just let of go of your childhood?"

"Mom, I really don't care whether or not you approve. And _please_, don't call me '_Travie_'."

Travis picked up his costume, walked up the giant wooden staircase, down a hall, and opened the door on the right.

That door led to his room.

Travis' room looked nothing like the rest of the house. While the other rooms in the house were all shades of brown and decorated with a cabin-esque (I don't think that's a word… nope it isn't. Too bad) feel to it, his walls were light pink, along with his ceiling.

His bed, on the left side of the door, was the top part to a bunk bed –Joel had the top part-. On the opposite wall of his bed stood a desk, and a dresser. The desk was light tan-ish wood and had stacks of books on it. Travis loved to read. His books were known to his friends as his most prized possessions. On his dresser, sat a VCR. On top of that VCR, stood a TV. Travis had had that TV since he was 10 and it fairly small in size.

He reached out and grabbed a book off his shelf and dropped his costume once he was close enough and walked over to his bed, flopping down on it. He didn't really care which book it was that he had taken. He liked all of them.

Just as Travis flopped down on his bed, a medium-height, medium-weight redheaded girl burst through his door. She was wearing a light pink halter top with a cat on the front – she had an obsession with cats- and a white mini skirt. She had a few freckles arranged over tiny nose, eyelids that covered bright green eyes, and high cheekbones. She wore white sandals on her small pale feet.

Lynne was Travis's neighbor, she'd just moved in about a year ago and the two had become fast friends. She hated disorder. Everything had to be perfect or she would do it over again –many times, others were doing things wrong and she'd make them fix it- or be in a pissy mood for the rest of the day. Often times she would get into what everyone who knew her called 'her mother mode' and felt that she needed to be overprotective of some people.

"Travis Alexander Stevenson! What are you doing inside? It's too hot out to just sit in your room and read all day!" she said disbelievingly.

"Lynne Savannah Jackson, can't you knock?" Travis asked her angrily.

"Yes, I can. Now answer my question," Lynne snapped.

"I'm bored, pissed and tired. Reading is a stress reliever for me."

Her green eyes softened at this. "What's got you so worked up? Did Max borrow your favorite book and forget to give it back?"

Travis glared. "No."

"Then what's wrong?"

"Max is getting on my nerves… again."

"What'd he say," Lynne asked in her motherly mode.

"That I could be stupid sometimes."

"Well, why would he go and say something like that?"

"I'd really rather not talk about it."

"All right."

Lynne made her way over to Travis's bed and sat down on it next to him.

"So, did you get your Halloween costume yet?"

"Yeah, I'm a newsboy. So is Max."

"Oh, is that what you were doing all day? Looking for costumes?"

"Uh-huh. Why?"

"I came over earlier and you weren't here. Your mom said you went out somewhere with Max."

"Oh. What'd you come over for?"

Lynne bit her lip, a gesture that Travis knew meant she was uneasy about something. "Don't get mad okay?"

"Why wou-"

She leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips watching emotions play over his face. First there was surprise, then, a confused look, then she saw an emotion she couldn't identify.

She sat back and Travis looked at her curiously.

"What was that for?" Travis said once he found his voice.

"I… I kind of like you," Lynne said shyly.

"You like me? Wow."

"Yeah…" Lynne said, a blush spreading over her cheeks and nose, covering her freckles.

"I guess you figures out that I like you too, then."

"Yeah, I – wait, what! You actually like me? I thought you liked Tracey."

"No, I like you. Tracey is too wild for me. Besides, I think she has a thing for Max."

Lynne's eyes widened in surprise. "Max? Oh my Gosh, they would be so cute together!"

"Sure…" Travis agreed, wishing he hadn't brought up the subject."

Lynne smiled and snuggled into a pillow that she found on Travis's bed. "Hey, can I see your costume?"

"Okay." Travis got up and picked his costume off the floor where he had dropped it. He spread it out over his bed carefully and Lynne looked over it. She wrinkled her nose, trying to hide her distaste for the clothes.

"Interesting."

"Yeah, I know, it's stupid."

"Yeah. I bet you'll look great in it, though," Lynne said reassuringly.

"Yeah, sure."

* * *

How is it? 


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Newsies. Sorry.

**A/N:** Sorry for the long wait for updating.

* * *

Max entered his house after leaving Tracey on the corner, telling her he'd talk to her later. He took his shoes off and tossed them carelessly to the side. Halloween costume in hand, Max made his way upstairs and into his room.

As he entered his room, he wrinkled his nose in disgust and tossed his costume into his closet. His mother had been on a cleaning spree again. And she had attacked his room. Again.

His beloved room, was once messy. It had had books thrown on the floor, clothes spilling out of dresser drawers, notebooks, pens and pencils strewn about, a messy, unmade bed, and old dishes piled practically to the ceiling.

But now it was dish free, the bed was made, his notbooks were stacked neatly on his desk, his pencils and pens were put in a pencil holder, and he couldn't see any mountains of clothes anywhere. Walking to his dresser, he opened the underwear drawer. It was just as he suspected.

His mother had actually _folded_ the _underwear_. Who in their right mind _folded underwear_? Then again, Max and his sister had been having a conversation relating to the whereabouts of their mothers sanity just earlier that week, and they had concluded that she'd lost it sometime over the last few years.

Max looked at a stack of books sitting next to his notebooks, and the book placed on top grabbed his attention. It was Travis' favorite book, and he hardly went anywhere without it. Then, Max remembered that during Travis' last visit to his house, he'd left it in his hurry to go look for a Halloween costume.

Max wondered if Travis knew the book was missing, and decided to return it to him. He'd just stop by, return the book, and get down on his knees and plead for forgivness, like he always did. And like always, Travis would forgive him. Right?

Max walked the path to Travis' front door slowly, and with what he hoped was a casual manner, knocked on the door. After a minute's wait, the door swung open. On the other side of the door was a very shocked looking Travis.

"What do you want?" The anger in his voice made up for the shocked appearance.

"Nothing," Max replied snottily. Then, remembering that he wasn't trying to get himself in deeper trouble with his friend, he sighed. "I mean, you left your book at my house and... here." Max handed him the book nonchalantly. "I know it's your favorite book, so I thought you'd want to have it back."

"Oh... well, thanks."

Okay, so Travis was still mad. Maybe he should try apologizing?

"Look, I'm really sorry about saying that you could be stupid sometimes. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything, I just think that it's a bit… odd to believe in magic."

"What's odd to you is normal to others, Max," Travis said coldly.

"I know, but…"

"But nothing. Just leave, okay?"

Speechless, Max left.

Back in his room, Max sat on his bed and pouted. How dare Travis tell him to leave? He hadn't done anything wrong. Except for the fact that he called Travis stupid, he really hadn't done anything.

In the middle of his sulking, something in Max's closet glowed. Upon opening the door, the glowing ceased, and Max saw perfectly hung clothes organized by color. He looked down and noticed that his Halloween costume was lying on top of perfectly straight and clean shoes.

He picked up his costume and stared at the material. It seemed to be talking to him. Egging him to wear it, let the loose material hang off his shoulders. He shrugged his shoulders and prepared to get changed.

Just as he took off his shirt, he remembered what the old man, Mr. Greggorson, had said. _'The costumes help you go back in time. I guess you could say they have magical powers.'_

Max shook his head in disbelief. Magical powers, yeah right. That old man must be off his rocker...

Max put on his shirt first. The dusty material was thin and scratchy. He then put on his brown vest. Nothing happened. After slipping on his trousers, hat, suspenders, socks and boots, he stared at himself in the mirror.

Still, nothing happened.

But just as Max was about to take off his vest, he felt a tugging at his navel, and his room became blurry. The blue and white bedsheets and the brown wooded frame of his bed meshed into an oddbrowncolor, just before he blacked out.

He woke up in a room filled with bunkbeds and two scruffy looking little boys who wore torn clothing.

_Oh my God, where am I?_

He looked around and saw dirty windows that looked as if someone had tried to clean them in vain, another door leading to a room full of sinks, stalls, and mirrors, and then one more door, leading to stairs.

As soon as the kids in the room saw he was awake they went racing down the stairs.

"Jack, Jack, he's awake!"

"Davey! Davey, get up here, hurry!"

There was a loud thud, and from the stairs emerged the two dirty boys from earlier, another boy who wore a red bandana around his neck, had brown hair, and had a cowboy hat hanging down his back, and another boy who had bright blue eyes, dark brown, curly hair, and wore a blue bowtie, of all things, around his neck.

"So, youse finally awake," Mr. Bandana-Man said.

"And you state the obvious," Max answered.

Bowtie snickered, while Mr. Bandana-Man glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"...nevermind. So... where am I?"

"New York." Well that's not so unsettling, I do live in New York, after all.

"Where at in New York?"

"You'se in the Manhattan Newsboys Lodgin' House," Mr. Bandana-Man said with an air of great importance.

"WHAT!" Max blacked out again.

* * *

How do you like it? 


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Okay, so this is back up, with the 4th chapter. I hope you guys like it.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Newsies, or anything else I mention that you may recognize.

* * *

Travis gripped his book tightly in his hand and made his way upstairs. As he walked past one of the fans blowing mercilessly from the corner of the living room, he shivered slightly, and hurried upstairs even quicker. He went into his room, deposited the book onto a shelf, and headed back downstairs.

Looking at the clock, he saw that it was 4:13. His mother would be making dinner within the next hour, so he decided to watch TV. He flipped back and forth between MTV, Disney Channel, ABC Family, and VH1.

MTV was currently showing some dating show. Disney had some weird show about this Phil kid, ABC was playing it's 54654346th rerun of some 7th Heaven episode, and VH1 had some show about the 80's on.

Yeah, there was nothing to watch.

Then, suddenly, Travis felt a tremendous need to go upstairs and put his Halloween costume on. "But Halloween is tomorrow, I'm not wearing the costume yet," he said quietly to himself.

_Come on, just try it on. To see if it fits,_ said an insistent voice in the back of his head.

"Well, I _do_ want to see if it fits. It would be pretty lame to have a Halloween costume that was too big, or too small..."

_So go... come on, Travis, do it... DO IT! _With each passing second, the nagging voice got louder, until it finally, it was shouting at him.

"Alright! Alright, I'll do it!" Travis shouted back.

"You'll do what, honey?" Travis' mother's worried voice floated out at him from the kitchen.

"Nothing, Mom. I'll be up in my room."

The next thing Travis knew, he was upstairs in his room, looking for his costume. It wasn't under his bed, on his bed, in his closet, behind his door, or in his dresser.

_Hmm..._ Travis thought. _If I were a Halloween costume, where would I be hiding?_ Travis looked around before the answer came to him. _The Halloween costume box in my mom's room! She must have taken it. _

Travis went to his mom's room, opened her closet, and found his costume right on top of the box of Halloween supplies. The voice in his head was back.

_Go in your room. Put it on._

That voice really didn't know when to stop. "I know, I'm going!" Travis said angrily.

He went back to his room and shut the door, locking it, before he started changing.

When he was done, he was disappointed. The costume wasn't taking him anywhere.

_Max was right. _Travis thought. _There really is no such thing as magic..._

_I should go apologize..._

Travis left his house, and headed towards Max's. He hoped Max would forgive him for overreacting.

Once he got to Max's house, he knocked on the door nervously. After a few minutes with no reply, Travis knocked again. This time, Max's sister, Erin, answered the door.

"What do you want?" she asked rudely. "Oh, and nice costume." She smirked.

Ah, yes, Travis forgot that Erin was a brat.

"Is Max here?"

"No."

"Do you know where he is?"

"Does it look like I care about my brother?"

"Not really, no."

"Exactly. So I don't know where he is, and if I see him, I won't tell him you stopped by." With those words, Erin slammed the door shut in his face.

_Well, that was a nice visit with Erin,_ Travis thought bitterly.

When he was back home, he went upstairs. He layed on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

_So, Max isn't home... where else would he be? Whatever, he'll probably call me later. I'll just take this stupid costume off. _Travis sighed.

But just as Travis was getting ready to take off his costume, he felt something tugging at him, seemingly from his gut. He looked down at what he thought was his stomach, and saw that it was just a blurry gray-pink color.

"What's going on?" he said asked. "Who's doing this?"

The tugging sensation grew, as did the blur that had appeared where his stomach should have been. Soon, it felt as if the costume was... it was ridiculous to think. That the costume was _sucking_ him into his... his stomach?

The tugging became almost inbearable as Travis waited for the worst. The blur traveled quickly up his chest, and down to his legs. Whatever was happening, Travis wasn't sure he'd survive it. The blur was soon covering his face.

He felt one more tug, before he finally fainted.


End file.
